


Tabloid Drama

by cheshireArcher



Category: 14th Century CE RPF, Richard II - Shakespeare
Genre: Accusations of Infidelity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Biphobia, Canon Bisexual Character, F/M, Gossip, Homophobia, M/M, Multi, OT4, Polyamory, Richard takes a beating on the gossip sites, Tabloids, a lot of phobias, internet comments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-09-03 23:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20275558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshireArcher/pseuds/cheshireArcher
Summary: Richard Plantagenet, the successful CEO, has been caught cheating on his wife with a man. Or, so say the tabloids, but they don't have the full story.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt: https://polyshipprompts.tumblr.com/post/179966101071/imagine-person-a-of-your-polyship-is-a-celebrity. I'll be updating both on tumblr and Ao3 and adding more tags as I write it.

The tabloids were having a field day. 

Richard Plantagenet, CEO of Plantagenet Industries had always maintained the appearance of a devoted husband. He appeared at every gala, every business and charity event with his wife, the Czech heiress Anne Luxembourg, on his arm, and he always spoke of her in the most affectionate of terms. They seemed to be the perfect couple until he was caught cheating on her. 

With another man. 

Richard first heard of the scandal while cooking breakfast. 

“Dickon, are you aware that you are cheating on me?" 

Richard looked up from the pan of eggs. "What?" 

Anne was sitting at the breakfast table, anxiously scrolling through news on her laptop. "It’s in all the news,” she said. “They say you are having an affair.” She turned the computer around as Richard stepped over to see. 

The headlines on several gossip sites was that Richard Plantagenet had been seen in public with another man last week. The internet was buzzing with speculation on who the other man was and what this revelation could mean for Richard– who they were now saying was secretly gay. 

“This is– n– none of this is right!” Richard stammered. “This says I was– I was seen with– with another man last Saturday–” he and Anne looked at each other. 

“Robin,” they said in unison. 

“I had lunch with Robin on Saturday,” Richard mumbled, turning back to the computer but staring at it blankly, not reading a word. “I should have– I sh–” his throat closed up and he felt dangerously close to tears. “I should have known…" 

Anne wrapped her arms around her husband’s broad shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. "I know. You didn’t do anything wrong, Dickon, neither did Robbie.” She kissed his temple. “You are so good…” she whispered. 

“They don’t understand,” Richard murmured. He didn’t know who he meant– the tabloid writers or the world at large. 

“I do,” Anne replied simply. “We’ll deal with this, don’t worry." 

Richard closed his eyes, beginning to feel himself calm down somewhat. If Anne thought they’d be okay, it must be true. 

Anne released him suddenly. "Do you smell that?" 

Richard sniffed, then realized too late. "The eggs!” He leaped up from the table and ran back to the stove, where the eggs were burning. He turned the burner off and moved the pan to another burner, scraping at the charred mess with a spatula, but it was no use. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Breakfast is ruined.”

“I blame the tabloids, it’s their fault for distracting you,” Anne said with a laugh. Richard cracked a smile, though it hurt to do so. “Take me to dinner tonight to make up for that?”  
Richard smiled again, though this time it didn’t hurt. “Deal.”


	2. Chapter 2

Richard ignored the stares and whispers of secretaries and other employees as he made his way to his office, closing the door behind him. He was flooded with emails and texts from business partners demanding an explanation. He ignored those and tried to focus on the upcoming Warner deal. If he didn’t dignify the gossip sites with a response, they’d have no story except speculation that they’d soon tire of, and they’d return to the usual Kardashians and disgraced ex-golfers that usually made the news.

He’d have to talk to Robert and find out what he knew about the situation. And he had the urge to call Anne and see if she was okay, no doubt people would be whispering about her too– though he knew she was at work too and she might not appreciate being interrupted if she was in a meeting. Richard turned back to the files on his desk– if all went well, another major communications company would exclusively use hardware manufactured with patents owned by Plantagenet–

His shaky concentration was broken when someone began banging on his office door. Richard jumped and knocked over a stack of papers onto the floor. “I’m busy!” he shouted, hastily trying to scoop up several brand deals and a drawing in crayon by his niece. 

“RICHARD PLANTAGENET, OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!”

Uncle John. 

He was dead.

Richard took a moment to compose himself, then called “The door’s unlocked, Uncle John.”

The door opened and his uncle stepped in, livid. 

“Do you want to explain why the trending news story is a sex scandal threatening the country’s largest holding company?” John demanded, throwing printouts of several websites on Richard’s desk. 

Richard flinched. “I’d actually like an explanation myself,” he said. “Apparently the gossip sites ran out of B-listers to chase and started speculating on my personal life.” He looked at the page on top of the stack and flinched again. TMZ had gotten an exclusive picture of him and the other man. 

“I thought you and Robert broke up years ago,” Uncle John snarled. “You said you broke up before you married Anne!" 

"Sorry, Uncle John, apparently I didn’t,” Richard replied, seemingly flippantly. 

“What about Anne!?” Uncle John demanded. Is she aware you’ve been having this affair?“

"No, because it isn’t an affair. The three of us have an agreement which, if I’m not mistaken, is not anyone’s business but our own.” Richard continued to pick up the scattered papers and didn’t look at his uncle. 

“I can’t believe this. You’ve been married for five years and–”

“– And Robert is part of our marriage,” Richard finished. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Uncle John, I have to get back to work.”

“What do you mean, ‘part of your marriage?’” Uncle John demanded. 

Richard regretted saying that immediately. “I really don’t want to discuss this right now,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, as if it would make the sudden pounding in his head stop. “Please, let me sort this out with Robert. On my own.”

Uncle John had fallen silent, no doubt thinking of the similarities to how his relationship with his wife Kathy had progressed. “Robert hasn’t been identified yet, has he?”

“No, Richard said, finally reading some of the printouts. "Everything here says he’s 'an unknown man.’”

“It’s best you keep it that way,” Uncle John said. “Don’t let those vultures get a hold of Robert or they’ll drag you both through the mud.”

“Good idea, Uncle John,” Richard said. He looked pointedly at the stack of papers that still had to be signed, then back at his uncle. “Now, I have to get back to work.”

Uncle John took the hint and left, closing the door behind him. Richard noticed he’d left the printouts on the desk. 

As soon as Uncle John was gone, Richard dug his phone out from under some patents and dialed his boyfriend’s number.


	3. Chapter 3

Robert answered on the first ring. “Have you seen today’s–”

“I have,” Richard cut him off. “And hello to you too, sweetheart.”

“Sorry,” Robert said. “I knew you were going to call about this at some point.”

“You have any idea how the gossip sites got this picture?” Richard asked, leaning back in his chair.

“No, I swear.”

“I didn’t think you leaked them!"

"Sorry, I’m just a little freaked out,” Robert replied. “It was the first thing I saw this morning and… I’m not really used to seeing myself in the news. Especially gossip news.”

“I think you’ll be okay,” Richard said, “no one knows it was you. And you’re not high-profile enough for it to matter, probably.”

“Heeeeyyyyy!” Robert objected, “I’m not that unknown in the business!” He was laughing though, that lovely cocky laugh that Richard found irresistible.

  
Robert de Vere was an executive with Oxford Telecommunications, one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. He’d been Richard’s boyfriend before Richard met and fell in love with Anne, and when Richard and Anne married, they had asked Robert to stay and consider himself their boyfriend. That had been five years ago. The arrangement had remained private until now.

“How’d the tabloids figure out we’re dating?” Richard asked, leaning back in his chair. “We could just have been meeting for lunch. Did I kiss you?”

“You always kiss me,” Robert said. “Usually you can’t keep your hands or mouth off– yes, you did, as a matter of fact. Whoever took that picture must have seen that too.”

Richard swore under his breath, then straightened up. “Okay, if there’s no evidence of that, it’s just the word of a gossip site against mine, and I can claim nothing happened. We just– we just need to wait this out. My uncle John had that affair with Kathy for years and the scandal it caused blew over quickly.”

  
“Except he wasn’t caught with another guy,” Robert said. “That’s what makes this such a scoop.” He paused and Richard heard typing from the other end of the phone line. “Ah-HA!”

“What?”

“I know a guy who works for Arundel Media, the company that owns that gossip site,” Robert said. “I might be able to use my connections there to find out who submitted the picture and the story.”

“I love you,” Richard said.

“I know.” Richard could hear the grin in his voice. “I gotta go, meeting in a few minutes. You’ll be okay?”

“Yeah,” Richard sighed, “I guess so. Anne said not to worry, we’ll survive.”

“She’s right,” Robert said above the sound of him packing his briefcase. “Give her my love.”

“Of course,” Richard said. Thinking about Anne was one of the few moments of peace he’d had all day.

“Oh and babe?” Robert said. “Don’t read the comment section.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This chapter contains some mildly unpleasant internet comments directed at Richard. 
> 
> Don't worry, the next chapter will be all fluff.

Richard tried to suppress his morbid curiosity, but Robert’s warning of “don’t read the comments” wasn’t helping. The moment he got home from work he gave into the temptation. He had to know what people were saying about him.

The apartment was empty and there was no one to stop him, though Anne would by now be on the L on her way home. He flipped through the news app on his phone, looking for the story as he gave Mathe a fresh bowl of dog food. Fortunately his scandal was regulated to the gossip and celebrity outlets and none of the major news services. That should be easy to clean up, after all, many of these sites were a slow news day away from saying Elvis was alive–

Some articles were more detailed with others. One, from Oh Yeah! Online, had an official photo, taken by a legitimate photographer at a charity gala earlier that year of him and Anne for context– the image he presented to the public. A devoted husband, holding hands with his much shorter wife. This was contrasted with the headline photo, of him sitting close to Robert in their booth in a West Loop restaurant– a secret meeting with his illicit gay lover.

Then he read the comments.

**“I’m not a bit surprised, the Gay Face was strong with this guy.”**

**“Funny. I didn’t think he was gay. I thought his boyfriend was.”**

**“He has a very feminine look to him tho in the face kinda lady like”**

**“I hope he was honest with his wife right from the beginning. If not, what a betrayal.”**

Richard kept scrolling, cringing at the poorly-spelled and punctuated insults, speculations on his past, what he must be like in bed, the status of his soul, and declarations of how terrible a husband he was. They got worse as they went. He felt tears coming to his eyes.

**“No wonder , look at his wife…”**

Richard couldn’t take it anymore.

Temporarily taking leave of his senses, he hurled his cell phone across the room, which made contact with the far wall with a thud. He threw himself on the couch to cry.

* * *

That was how Anne found him when she got home.

“Richard! I’m home!” She called. There was no answer from her husband, though Mathe came running for attention. “Where’s Dad?” she asked, reaching down to pet the greyhound. Mathe whined, trying to tell her that no one had paid attention to him all day, not least of all Dad. Anne sighed and went to the living room, as she did every day after she got home.

Richard was curled up on the couch, shaking. Mathe nuzzled him but got no response.

Anne hurried to the couch and knelt down in front of the sobbing wreck of her husband. “Richard, _miláčku_, what’s wrong?”

“I–” Richard choked, “I read the comments on an article about Robert and me…” He tried to focus on her but his eyes kept blurring with tears. “People are saying really horrible things.”

“None of them are true,” Anne said, running her fingers through his hair. “They’re all wrong and mean.” She leaned forward and hugged him, kissing his forehead. Richard clung to her, breathing raggedly and heaving from the sobs.

“I love you,” he mumbled into her neck.

“I know. I love you too.”

After a while, Anne’s knees began to ache from being on the floor, so she disentangled herself from Richard, kissing him one last time. “Hold on, I’ll be back in a minute,” she promised. As she left the living room, she noticed the dent in the wall and the phone on the floor. It was going to be a long night.

Richard wasn’t sure how much time passed between when Anne left and when she came back. It was too much time, he knew that.

“I called Robbie,” Anne said, from somewhere above him. He looked up to see her standing in front of him. “He said he’s going to come over tonight, he’ll be here in half an hour.”

It took Richard a moment to process what she said. “Thanks,” he said, once he understood.

Anne got on the couch and curled up with him, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

“Anne?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t let them find Ned,” Richard pleaded. “Don’t let them get to him.”

“I won’t,” Anne replied. “We won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the comments are real and were taken from the comment section of a TMZ article about Ed Smart coming out as gay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [CW for hardcore, explicit snuggling. (This is a joke, there's nothing that actually needs a CW in here)]
> 
> A little edited from the original posting on Tumblr.

Robert let himself in. 

As usual, Mathe came running, excited to see one of his people. Robert bent down to pet him. "You being a good boy and watching out for Mom and Dad?" Robert asked. Mathe just licked his hand.

"We're in the living room," Richard called. His voice sounded shaky and hoarse. 

Richard was still on the couch, though now sitting up. Anne was next to him, holding him tight. His face was pressed into the crook of her shoulder. Mathe curled up on the floor right beside his favorite person, looking up at Richard and whining in concern.

"Hey," Robert said gently, laying his hand on Richard's back. Anne moved, pulling Richard with her, to make space for Robert to sit on Richard's other side. Robert put his arms around his boyfriend, pressing a kiss to his shoulder, then his cheek. Richard heaved a heavy breath, trying to stabilize himself, but he again remembered how people treated him for loving Robert, and the tears came again. 

"I'm sorry I put you two through this," Richard sobbed. 

"It's not your fault!" Robert said. He stopped himself before he said something stupid, such as it was actually his own fault, not Richard’s. Instead, he just kissed Richard again, this time on the lips. That usually helped. Richard’s breathing became a little more even and he leaned into the kiss. After they broke, he buried his face in Robert’s chest and sobbed some more. 

"I shouldn't have kissed you that day," Richard said. "I just... I just wanted to have a normal lunch date. Meet you on Randolph Street and get a booth and talk about things and--"

"-- And kiss me goodbye over the table when you have to get back to the office," Robert finished.

"Yeah. Stupid, I know,” Richard mumbled. 

“No, I want that too,” Robert replied. The nature of their relationship meant they could never be openly affectionate in public, as proven by the other day’s consequences. 

Robert looked at Anne, her head resting on Richard’s shoulder. "You okay, Annie?" he asked, finding Anne's hand and squeezing it. He'd seen the comments that involved her, and he was just as disgusted as Richard had been. 

"I'm fine," Anne replied, squeezing his hand in return. She then tightened her arms around Richard, who was still shaking. 

There was silence for a while. Richard was exhausted from the day’s news and subsequent breakdown, Anne hurt too much for her boys, and Robert didn’t know what else to say. Someone finally had the idea to just go to bed, which was agreed upon by everyone.

They spent the rest of the night curled up safe and warm in bed, Richard in the middle between his wife and his boyfriend. Mathe was curled up at the foot of the bed, refusing to leave his favorite person when he was so sad. Anne and Robert took turns kissing Richard, stroking his hair and whispering reassurance to him. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Anne said, running her fingers through Richard’s thick blond hair. “You guys didn’t do anything wrong, you know.” The gasp from Richard suggested Robert had just kissed his neck.

“Exactly,” Robert said, voice muffled against Richard’s neck. “Forget them. What do they know.”

“All the wrong things –” 

“Richard, sweetie, shut up. You’re so hard to kiss when you’re talking.”

Richard obeyed, wrapping his arms around them tighter and being kissed in return by both. Anne pressed her forehead onto his shoulder, resting her hand on his chest and feeling him breathe. Richard’s hand covered hers, with Robert’s hand soon covering his. 

“I love you both so, so much,” Richard whispered, twisting his head to kiss Robert, then Anne. 

“We love you too,” Anne replied, drowsily. 

“Yup,” Robert agreed, half-asleep.

Richard finally fell asleep in their arms.


End file.
